Tomorrow's Company launched Tomorrow's Global Leaders report on Thursday 20 March 2014 at a breakfast event hosted by Linklaters.
The launch of the Tomorrow's Global Leaders report was led by The Rt Hon Maria Miller MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Minister for Women and Equalities and The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Fiona Woolf CBE.
The report is based on extensive dialogues and research in collaboration with leading businesses and networks including British Airways, BAE Systems, EY, YSC, Kingfisher, National Grid, Linklaters, Lloyds Banking Group, City Women Network, the Women's Business Council, and Women in Banking and Finance.
It lays the foundations for a culture that truly welcomes women working alongside men at every level of an organisation. It will be the springboard for Tomorrow's Global Leaders Forum, an on-going practice forum.
Our host for the morning Ms. Vanessa Havard-Williams from Linklaters welcomed the report and opened the event.
Tony Manwaring, Chief Executive, Tomorrow’s Company, briefly introduced the report and the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Fiona Woolf CBE.
In her vivid speech about 'The power of diversity' the Lord Mayor stated:
There has always been a moral case for Diversity and Inclusion, but there is also a business case - indeed, a business imperative, defined by constrained, finite natural resources and the uncertainties of climate change.In order to meet the challenges, and seize the opportunities, of a changing world we need to maximise the potential of our workforce – actually capturing the benefits of diversity for innovation and long-term growth.Changes need to be made – right now – if we are to build resilience, stability and sustainability, into our society.And into the global economy, on which our society depends.The Tomorrow's Global Leaders report is a milestone towards making that change. Pat Cleverly, Director of Research, Strategy and Policy, Tomorrow's Company summarised the key findings in the guide and presented the report in detail. The presentation paved the way for our highly distinguished panel consisting of: Steve Varley, UK & Ireland Managing Partner, EYLady Rice CBE, Managing Director, Lloyds Banking Group ScotlandAlison Maitland, Adviser to the project and Co-author of Future Work and Why Women Mean Business Lady Rice CBE, commented:
Tomorrow’s Global Leaders brings a fresh perspective, challenges our preconceptions around meritocracy and offers the opportunity to participate in the development of new solutions.
Steve Varley remarked:
Our ability to work effectively as a global organisation and deliver exceptional service to our clients is dependent on our ability to embed diversity into the way we do business. We talk about this in terms of leading inclusively by the way we encourage discussion, actively engage conflicting points of views and inspire our teams to think creatively.
Alison Maitland stated:
When I broached the idea for this project with Tomorrow’s Company in 2009, it seemed that an important contribution to our knowledge on the ‘gender question’ would be to find out what made some companies attractive for both women and men to flourish and achieve their full potential. What could we learn from them to apply to more intractable corporate cultures? Organisations need to tackle this crucial agenda from many different angles at once to make progress. The thoughtful perspectives and pioneering case studies in this report point a useful way forward.
Right after panel contributions the Rt Hon Maria Miller MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and Minister for Women and Equalities spoke about 'The challenge ahead'
The Rt Hon Maria Miller remarked:
‘Tomorrow’s Global Leaders’ complements the WBC Report and is a very welcome contribution to our continuing progress. It offers a fresh perspective and new solutions aimed at creating that all-important cultural change. It brings genuinely new insights into the different ways that men and women experience the corporate journey, and provides valuable guidance on how organisations can work with all employees to help them navigate that journey to the fullest potential of their talents and aspirations. A discussion and General Q&A followed with an enthusiastic and engaged audience. We would like to thank all delegates and participants for this productive session and more than successful event. Read what others have written about the Tomorrow's Global Leader's report: Sylvana Caloni President, WIBF, SC Executive Coaching Peninah Thomson, OBE Margaret Heffernan, CEO and Author